


Little Lilo Tales

by parisienneheart



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Canon Compliant, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Soulmates, Winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 18:25:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4402487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parisienneheart/pseuds/parisienneheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All my small lilo ficlets from tumblr in one place ^_^ Each chapter is a different story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Simply Meant To Be

**Author's Note:**

> Lilo soulmate au fic prompted by [multishippinfool](http://tmblr.co/mvJ429cYllIpD9F6JqVKXNw) and based a bit on [this](http://imgur.com/a/BWDcM)

Liam was panting hard, willing his legs to take him faster to the lecture hall. He didn’t care if he showed up smelling like sweat—he was not going to be relegated to the broken seat again. He couldn’t get a different shift from his work schedule on Wednesdays and he had just enough time to get from the bus to his lecture, but there was someone else who was always arriving late, too. Louis Tomlinson.

For the past few weeks, Liam had to race to get to Philosophy on time—because Louis seemed to always arrive at the same time,too—and the  small lecture hall had a limited amount of seats—and there was always one creaky, broken seat that tilted and squeaked with the slightest movement. And Liam hated it.

Back to the present, Liam was running and no one else was in sight. Perhaps that meant that the Louis had already got there early, but based on his record—ah, there he was! Liam spotted a bloke with pointy hair and tattoos all over his arms—it could only be Louis—and he was speedwalking towards the entrance, so Liam picked up his pace. Louis looked over, saw Liam, then picked up his pace into a run.

Liam kept his eyes on him until they both got close to the entrance. Louis gritted his teeth as he ran and grabbed open the door. Liam rushed just after him inside the hall until he caught up. Louis casually shoved Liam aside with his shoulder, but Liam wasn’t so easily swayed, and lightly pushed back as he ran forward.

“You tosser, you got the good seat last time!” Louis growled.

“That was two weeks ago—You got it last week!” Liam gritted out as they entered the room and darted towards the good seat.

The lecture had barely begun, and all eyes turned to Liam and Louis as they stumbled in. They were both gasping and panting as they spotted the coveted seat—then they broke into a strange wrestling/chasing match that ended up with both of them sprawled across the seat in tangled heap.

“If you want to muck around, do it outside of this hall!” their instructor sneered. “Get out. Now.”

Louis heaved out a huge groan as he kicked Liam off the seat. Liam glared up at him from the floor. “This is all your fault.”

“My fault?!” Louis retorted.

“Gentlemen!” their instructor barked.

Louis and Liam sauntered out in shame—at least, Liam felt a bit ashamed about his behaviour. He didn’t particularly like Philosophy, but making a bad impression on his instructor was definitely not a good thing.

—

  
  


Louis hadn’t even looked at Liam since their small scuffle.

“Mate, we’ve got to figure this out,” Liam finally said as soon as they got outside.

Louis raised an eyebrow. “What the hell do you mean?”

“We can’t be doing this every week,” Liam groaned.

Louis smirked. “Easy solution—you take the shite seat.”

Liam frowned. “No.”

“Then I guess I’ll be racing you next week,” Louis muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“How about we flip for it? One day I get the seat, then you get it the next time. Switch off,” Liam suggested.

“No,” Louis sharply declined.

“Fine,” Liam muttered. They both turned away from each other and began walking.

Only, they were walking in the same direction.

Liam glanced over at Louis, who slightly narrowed his eyes.

“You mind, mate?” Louis scoffed.

“I’m headed this way,” Liam answered as he kept walking.

Louis breathed in deep. “Great. Hope you don’t run me over on the way.”

Liam tilted his head. “You’re the one who shoved me first!”

Louis grinned, baring his canines. “You did it back, though…”

Liam rolled his eyes as they continued walking.

They walked in silence for a few more seconds down the path. Liam could feel the tension in the air, catching on the hair of his arms. They were walking the exact same pace, with each step landing in unison.

“Say something!” Louis snapped.

“Like what?” Liam questioned.

“I don’t know!” Louis growled. “It’s awkward as fuck walking in silence.”

Liam kept his head down, not able to think of anything to say.

“I’ve got six siblings,” Louis blurted out, not looking at Liam.

“I’ve got two older sisters,” Liam replied.

“So you’re the baby?” Louis replied, with a crooked smirk.

Liam furrowed his brow. “I’m the youngest, yes.”

“Oh, look! A crossroads, thank God!” Louis sighed as they came to a parting in the path that led to three more different paths.

Liam smiled, then went down the path the farthest to his right—and Louis was right next to him.

“Don’t tell me you’re going this way, too…” Louis moaned.

“How can I be sure you’re not the one following me?” Liam asked with a raise of his eyebrow

“Like _I’d_ follow _you_ ,” Louis scoffed.

“Well, I thought I’d have somethng to eat at the café before my next course.”

“Well, me too!” Louis retorted in a biting tone, glaring at Liam.

Liam kept his gaze for a few more seconds, then scoffed. “Look, can we just get over whatever this is? Just be normal?”

“Get over what?” Louis muttered.

Liam sighed. “Whatever you got against me, like… I’m sorry?”

“I don’t have anything against you,” Louis replied with a flat stare.

“Then you won’t mind that we’re going to the same place?”

“Sure, Payne. Let’s be besties!” Louis sarcastically told him with an eye-scrunching grin.

Liam rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Tomlinson.”

“Don’t copy me!” Louis sneered.

Liam grinned as he began to walk at a faster pace.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Louis continued in a loud voice as he skipped to catch up to Liam’s pace.

“Looks like you’re following me, mate,” Liam joked as he looked back at him.

Louis narrowed his eyes and his cheeks began to grow rosy. “You’re obnoxious!”

“So are you,” Liam muttered as he kept his face forward.

They both reached the café and Louis cut in front of Liam. Liam just let it go, and looked past the queue into the glass window to see what pastries were still available.

“Only one more chocolate chip muffin,” Liam moaned as he kept his hands tucked in his pockets.

Louis darted his head to widen his eyes at Liam. “You’re kidding me…”

Liam’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me, you—”

“Well, guess today’s my lucky day,” Louis said with a smug grin. When it was his turn, he marched up to the counter and got a hot tea and the chocolate chip muffin in a paper bag.

Liam looked on, trying to contain his discontent with a purse of his mouth. He then resigned to buying a blueberry scone to go along with his coffee.

“Hey, Payne!” Louis called as soon as Liam finished paying.

_What now?_ Liam thought as he turned around.

His face was met with a smack of a paper bag. He brought his hands up just in time to save it from falling.

Louis raised his cup of tea at Liam, in a salutatory manner.

Liam narrowed his eyes, then looked down into the paper bag. It was the chocolate chip muffin.

Louis had… done something… nice? For Liam?

Before he could say anything to Louis, he looked up to discover that he was already gone. He’d have to remember to thank him the next week. What a strange turn of events that was…

Liam picked up his coffee from the counter, and as he walked out of the shop, a couple came in, holding hands, arms pressed together. Liam glanced down and saw the dark spot—a teardrop shape on each of their forearms that looked a bit like a heart when combined. It was the soulmate mark. The couple’s faces were stretched wide in smiles as they gazed at each other, like no other person existed in the world.

Liam felt an empty pang in his chest as he looked away.

Everyone had a soulmate mark, half of a symbol that you shared with another person, who was your soulmate. A unique mark, usually on the arm, leg, or even torso, that only one other person in the world could have.

It’s not like every single person in the world found their soulmate—that was pretty rare. But it seemed like lately, more and more people had been finding theirs. Liam’s parents were soulmates. Ruth had found hers, and Nicola, too. Everyone except for Liam.

His parents tried to console him, giving the usual “not everyone gets to meet their soulmate” speech and “you can still find love, Liam.” But when it was so easy for others to find their soulmate, and when he used to ask people out—and then be rejected because he didn’t have a matching mark—it only made Liam long even more to find his soulmate.

To be assured that he was meant to be with someone, and there was someone out there who was meant to be with him.

  
  


—

The next Wednesday, Liam was wearing his legs out, running to make it to his class on time.

To make it there before Louis.

He only had several more paces to go to reach the lecture hall when he spotted and met eyes with Louis—who was rushing to the door, not too far away, either. Louis scrunched his mouth into a smirk as he spotted Liam.

Liam picked up his legs even more and grinned as he kept running, iced coffee in his hand spilling out over his fingers. He was going to make it—if it killed him, he was going to make it there first!

He reached the door and grasped the handle when he heard Louis cry out “No!”

Louis grabbed at Liam’s wrist and wrenched his arm away, trying to worm his way through the door. On instinct, Liam reached his other arm out to try and block Louis from entering the building—but he forgot he had an iced coffee in his hand.

And the lid of the container popped off, pouring cold coffee onto Louis’s chest and stomach.

“Fuck!” Louis gasped loudly as he recoiled and shuddered away from Liam.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry!” Liam blurted out as he brought a hand up to his mouth.

Louis held out his arms and looked down at his stomach with a grimace. “It’s so fucking cold!”

“Gosh, I'm—I’m really sorry, I should have warned you,” Liam started as he outstretched his hand, as if that was supposed to help.

Louis looked over at him and swallowed. “Well, I guess I should thank you for not buying a hot one. Ugh, I did like this shirt though. Bollocks…” The white t-shirt he was wearing was stained brown all over the front and sopping wet, getting onto his jeans.

Liam immediately reached up to pull off his own grey hoodie, then let it sink to the floor. “Here, you can borrow my shirt.” He reached behind his neck to begin pulling off his own t-shirt.

Louis bent his eyebrows in perplexity. “You’re giving me the shirt off your back?”

“Well, go on!” Liam said as soon as he got his shirt off. “Unless you like having cold coffee stick on you.”

“No, I don’t,” Louis retorted as he peeled his shirt off.

“Here,” Liam offered as he held out his lump of a t-shirt.

Louis grudgingly took it with a scrunch of his mouth. “Cheers.”

Liam turned around and bent down to pick up his hoodie. Louis made a strangled noise from his throat.

“All right?” Liam asked as he quickly glanced back at Louis.

“That thing on your back…” Louis started, his face pale as he pointed a finger at Liam.

Liam reached at the small of his back before he stood up. “Oh, yeah—it’s not a tattoo or anything, it’s a—”

“Soulmate mark…” Louis finished.

Liam whipped around to face him. “…yeah.”

Louis’s eyes were wide, his mouth drawn tight.

“What? What is it?” Liam asked, getting ready to be told how weird his mark looked.

“Nothing. Just. Uh… Well… ” Louis turned around without putting on Liam’s shirt and revealed an identical lightning bolt on the same spot of his back.

Identical except for the fact that it was oriented  in the opposite direction of Liam’s.

Liam’s eyes widened. “What??”

“I can’t believe it…” Louis breathed out, still looking a bit stunned.

Louis and Liam stared at each other in shock, both of their jaws slightly dropped. It was as if they were really looking at each other for the first time.

Then Liam blinked and furrowed his brow. “Wait. _YOU_?”

Louis blinked and recoiled. “What do you mean, _**you?!**_ I should be the one asking that!”

Liam scoffed. “But… you don’t even like me…”

“I don’t dislike you!” Louis argued.

Liam blinked rapidly. “But… all the times we fight over the seat, and the way you're—”

“You’re a bit annoying, Liam, but I suppose I am as well. Doesn’t mean I don’t like you,” Louis said as he looked down and crossed his arms. “ _You_ don’t like me, though…”

Liam swallowed. “Not exactly true.” He scratched the back of his head. “You know, I never got to say thank you. For the muffin. So… thanks.”

“Yeah, of course,” Louis said, very briefly making eye contact with him.

“So what now?” Liam asked.

“I don’t…know,” Louis replied. “I guess we’re… Well… you know…”

Liam swallowed, and he felt a heat course through his neck and up to his cheeks. “You’re my soulmate.”

Louis gulped as his own cheeks reddened.

Liam cleared his throat as he put his hands on his hips. “Maybe we should… put the marks together?”

Louis spit out a laugh. “And what, something magical might happen?” Though he had laughed, his smile was fading.

“I don’t know. It just seems like the thing to do,” Liam said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Louis nodded. “Yeah. All right.”

They stepped closer to one another, then turned around so that they were back to back. Liam felt a shiver go through him as he felt Louis’s skin touch his.

They stood like that for a few seconds, waiting to see if anything mystical would happen.

Nothing.

“This is stupid,” Louis burst out into a laugh, finally breaking the silence.

Liam couldn’t help but laugh into his chest, too. “Yeah, yeah it is!”

He felt Louis’s laughs shake against him, and then he felt Louis’s fingers brush and interlock with the fingers on his right hand.

Liam stopped laughing and turned around, not letting go of Louis’s hand.

“I think I can get used to this,” Louis said, giving Liam a thoughtful gaze, free of laughs this time.

Liam smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Louis gave him a toothy grin.

Liam brought a hand up to Louis’s neck and leaned in tentatively, flicking his eyes from Louis’s eyes to his mouth. Louis nodded, then lowered his eyes to Liam’s lips. Liam closed the distance and pressed his mouth to Louis’s lips, testing the gentle force. Louis was soft, warm, and tentatively pressing back. They pulled away, then Liam took in another breath and tightened his grip on Louis’s neck and went in with more force, slightly sucking on Louis’s lower lip. Louis grasped at Liam’s ribs and parted his lips to kiss back with even more force, nipping at Liam’s lips before they pulled away gasping.

“Yeah, think I could get used to that,” Liam panted.

“Well, there’s one more thing you should get used to,” Louis whispered as he once again moved in close to Liam.

“What?” Liam asked, unable to keep his eyes off of the piercing blue ones staring him down.

“This!” Louis reached down and grabbed Liam’s nipple and twisted.

“Ahh!” Liam yelped as he grabbed at his chest, trying to dampen the sting.

Louis was already skipping away towards the hall. “Just cos you’re my soulmate doesn’t mean I’m ever backing down, Payne!”

Clumsily slipping on his hoodie, Liam ran after him, grin unable to disappear from his face.

Yeah, he could definitely get used to this.


	2. Kiss It Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #decfanfic Day 4: Snowball Fight
> 
> Up All Night era.

Before the snowball fight even started, Louis had slipped several pebbles of snow down the back of Liam’s shirt, which fell into his pants.

“Ohhh!” Liam screamed in a high pitch as he squirmed and tried to get them out.

“Hahahaha!” Louis led a chorus of laughter from all the other lads.

Liam narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. “You’re going down, Tommo!”

Louis raised his eyebrows and raised up his gloved hands. “Oh, I’m so intimidated, Liam!”

“Come on Niall,” Liam said with a determined stare at Louis as he and Niall ran over to their side of the snow-blanketed field just outside the cabin.

Zayn and Louis high fived before heading to their side. Harry stood in the middle, the self-proclaimed referee.

“All is fair in love and snowball fights! Aaaaaand go!” Harry called out as he ducked and ran off to the safe zone behind the wooden fence that bordered this field.

It was pretty even for the next five minutes. Zayn and Louis were relentless in their attacks on Niall and Liam. But Niall and Liam used the efficient strategy of Niall forming snowballs and Liam pelting them out one after the other–so when Zayn and Louis were too busy packing new ones, Liam had open shots.

According to the rules, after three hits, a member was out, which left Louis and Liam the last remaining opponents with one hit left each.

“Prepare for defeat, Liam!” Louis hollered as he threw a snowball nearly the size of his face.

Liam threw himself onto the ground to dodge it and got ice all over the front of his coat and sweats. He quickly scraped two handfuls of snow from underneath his chest and packed them into a sphere.

“Go Liam!” Niall and Harry cheered from the side.

“Louis, get him!” Zayn opposed as he raised a fist.

Liam waited until Louis ran up to him, predictably going after him when he was down. As Louis threw his snowball, Liam rolled out of the way and threw his snowball, not knowing where it was going to land.

“Oof!”

Liam whipped his head just in time to see it hit Louis near his eye. Louis immediately brought a hand up to the point of impact.

“Liam wins!” Harry announced.

“Legend!” Niall crowed as he ran over to Liam and gave him a tackle hug. Liam wrapped his arms around Niall, but when he looked up over Niall’s shoulder, he noticed Louis was staring over at him. But he still hadn’t said anything. Which was odd for someone so talkative.

“Harry, get back here!” Liam whipped his head to see Zayn laughing as he ran after Harry with a football-sized snowball in his hands.

“Nooo!” Harry giggled as he ran off shrieking into the field.

“Oh, this is gonna be good,” Niall chuckled as he followed after Zayn and Harry.

That left Liam and Louis alone in the centre of the field.

Louis still had a hand over the side of his face as he winced. Liam ran up to him, his feet crunching the snow with each step.

“Did I hurt you?” Liam asked as he hovered over Louis, who was shaking out snow from his damp hair.

“Only a little.” Louis drew his eyes to the side and slightly pouted his lips. “Good shot, Payne.”

“I’m sorry,” Liam replied with a wince. And he really meant it.

“Kiss it better,” Louis commanded, looking up at Liam from underneath his long eyelashes.

Liam blinked, his eyes growing wide. “Erm, okay…”

He stepped close to Louis, then moved forward with his lips puckered. He softly pressed them against the red spot on Louis’s temple. Then he quickly stepped away, feeling his cheeks burn.

“Feel better?” Liam asked.

“Not quite,” Louis replied with a slight squint of his eyes. “Kiss it again.”

It was embarrassing enough kissing Louis once. It was such an intimate thing to do, and Liam wasn’t used to doing this on command. Even for all the love bites Louis gave him, being the one to kiss Louis was a whole other thing.

And well… he supposed he wasn’t embarrassed about kissing Louis. It was more that he had to admit that he liked it, and he liked having Louis’s attention, but Louis was used to this kind of attention. All the lads were like that with each other. Except… Liam especially liked when Louis gave him that kind of attention. But it probably doesn’t mean the same to him. And Liam feels so transparent right now–and for the love of god, would he just stop blushing?!

Liam looked around, Harry and Zayn were pushing each other around on the snow and Niall was guffawing, bent over in laughter at them. No one else was looking. Better to just get this over with quick before anyone else could see how flushed his cheeks were at the prospect of kissing Louis again.

Liam leant over, this time with a hand on Louis’s shoulder to steady himself. Louis was staring at him as he moved forward. It made Liam’s throat grow dry and he kept his eyes focused on that slightly red spot on Louis’s temple. As he pressed his lips to Louis’s skin, Louis binked rapidly, brushing Liam’s chin with his eyelashes. Liam couldn’t help but smile at the ticklish sensation as he pulled away.

Louis was smiling over at him as well, and brought a hand behind Liam’s neck. Before Liam could protest, Louis placed his other gloved hand on Liam’s cheek and moved in quick to plant a kiss on his lips.

Liam stood still, his hand still on Louis’s shoulder, his heart beating like crazy as he felt Louis’s warm, soft lips on his. He closed his eyes, taking in the sensation of Louis slightly sucking on his lower lip. Then a small moan escaped Liam’s mouth as he pressed his lips against Louis’s and placed his other hand around his waist. It was a bit embarrassing, but he couldn’t hide how much he wanted and liked this. It made his cheeks burn even more, so that he might have melted the ice off of Louis’s glove.

Louis let go first, and lightly patted Liam’s cheek as he gave him a toothy grin. “I feel much better now.”

“Good,” Liam exhaled in a high pitched voice. He blinked and cleared his throat. “I mean, good. Yeah. Glad—glad you’re feeling better.”

“My lip hurts a bit now, though. Yours were bloody chapped, scratched me some,” Louis whined, protruding his lips and frowning.

Liam felt his heart skip a beat. He knew what was coming next.

With a twinkle in his eye, Louis gave him a toothy smirk. “Kiss it better?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Liam/Louis meet in the produce section of a grocery store.

Liam shivered as he walked through the produce section of the grocery store. His eyes were still heavy, and goose pimples formed on his bare arms from the cool air. It was far too early to be up—let alone shopping for food, but he woke up this morning with a grumbling stomach and an empty refrigerator. He hated food shopping, never quite sure what to buy since Niall was the one who usually cooked at their flat—Liam was more of a cereal connoisseur.

“Pardon?” 

Liam whipped his head around to the soft voice, to see a boy who looked as haggard as Liam felt. He was dressed in joggers, an oversized jumper and a beanie crookedly framing his pointy hair. Despite the eye bags and dark circles, Liam couldn’t help but completely warm up as soon as he saw his face—he was beautiful.

“Can you hear me? Umm, could you please let me pass?” the beautiful boy asked again, his voice thin with fatigue.

Liam blinked and shook his head. “Oh, of course. Sorry!”

He moved his trolley to the side, swallowing, and then glanced back. At that moment, the attractive bloke caught his eye, and quickly averted his gaze.

“…Good morning,” Liam said, not exactly sounding like a greeting, though more like a statement.

“What?” the other boy asked as he turned around.

“It’s a good morning,” Liam awkwardly repeated. “The sun is out.”

The other boy blinked at Liam. “I hate mornings.”

Liam nervously laughed. “Yeah, I hate being up and about this early, too.” He cleared his throat. “If you hate mornings… why are you here on a Saturday?”

“Ran out of cereal,” the boy muttered with a self-deprecating grin and roll of his eyes. “And my flatmate’s even worse at mornings than I am.” He pointed his chin towards Liam’s empty trolley. “What about yourself? Looked like you were having an internal crisis choosing which apples to get,” he said with a toothy grin.

Liam laughed. “I’m more of a cereal person, myself. This was a lot easier when Mum used to do the shopping.”

Liam flushed as soon as he realised how embarrassing that might sound to another young adult—someone who probably wasn’t a mummy’s boy.

But the other boy nodded with an understanding look. “Not going so well so far, though, is it?”

Liam tilted his head and breathed out a laugh. “Is it that obvious how bad I am at grocery shopping?”

The other boy laughed, his eyes crinkling. “How about we avoid the ordeal altogether and just go out for breakfast?”

Liam’s eyebrows shot up. He made a confused sound.

The boy laughed again. “Would you like to have breakfast with me?”

Liam’s eyebrows shot up once more, and he felt his cheeks burn up. “Umm… Okay.”

“Great! I’m Louis,” he said, extending his hand.

Liam stared at Louis’s hand for a couple seconds before remembering what he was supposed to do. “Liam!” he nearly exclaimed as he shook his hand.

Louis smiled over at Liam. “I know this cafe just nearby. Excellent tea. And they even have cereal,” he added with an arch of his eyebrow.

Liam laughed and followed after Louis, both sharing a warm gaze between each other as they walked out of the grocery store. 

This really was a good morning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: “If you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to a bed.”
> 
> partially inspired by [this nightmare](http://iwasboth.tumblr.com/post/120473763854/liammix-liam-trying-to-make-an-announcement)

“You need to stop!” Liam pointed a finger in Louis’s face, even though a smile was fixed on his lips.

Louis curved his mouth into a grin, his eyes narrowing into pleased slits. “You love it.”

“No,” Liam protested as he moved towards the door. “You know what I love? Getting through video announcements in one take. With no distractions.”

“You dirty liar,” Louis chuckled as he inserted himself between Liam and the door, locking it behind him. They were the only ones in the dressing room now.

Liam swallowed.

“So you don’t like this?” Louis said as he moved close and tugged onto the hem of Liam’s shirt.

Liam giggled. “No, I don’t. Not when we’re shooting announcements.”

Louis moved his hand underneath Liam’s shirt and pressed his palm to Liam’s bare lower abdomen. “So you don’t like this, either?”

Liam swallowed down a small moan. “N-no…” he squeaked.

Louis flashed his pointy teeth as his smile widened. “So I’m guessing you wouldn’t like–”

Liam caught Louis’s wrist in his hand before he could dig his fingers into his pants. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, their eyes fixed on each other. Liam was holding his breath, waiting for the next move. It was like a dance they had perfected over the years. Every time Louis threatened to go over the edge, Liam would stop him with a catch of his wrist, and that fox-like grin of satisfaction would form on Louis’s face.

Except now Louis wasn’t smiling. But his lips were slightly parted, his teeth tugging onto his lip as he stared up at Liam, a twinkle in his eyes.

The next thing Liam knew, Louis was pressing his captured hand onto his crotch–hard. 

“Ohh!” Liam moaned loudly as he rocked a bit into the touch.

“Shut up, everyone’s going to hear!” Louis giggled. “Seems like I need to teach you a bit about subtlety,” he whispered before nipping at Liam’s ear.

“You… you shouldn’t do that right now,” Liam struggled to get out as he felt himself grow painfully hard against his jeans.

“We should do some hands-on lessons in our next video announcement, eh?” Louis teased as he tugged at Liam’s shirt again.

“You wouldn’t,” Liam gasped as he curled his other hand around Louis’s free one, pinning both of his arms to the door.

“Try me,” Louis purred, that smug grin on his face.

Liam was so turned on and indignant that he let Tommo win this one–he didn’t know what else to do but kiss that look off his face. 

It was Louis’s turn to squeak against Liam’s mouth, pinned down by Liam’s hands and the weight of his torso grinding against him.

“Can’t do anything with your hands now, can you,” Liam raggedly told him as he pulled away, his eyebrows wiggling at Louis. “Should we move this to a bed?”

“If you keep looking at me like that, we won’t make it to a bed,” Louis panted as he flashed his toothy grin.

Liam kissed at Louis’s jaw before answering. “Let’s see how ‘subtle’ we can be in here, then.”


	5. Until The End of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam proposes to Louis through song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on these photos of Liam and Louis at the Cinderella Ball. 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

“So now’s your big moment, Payno?” Louis asked as he dug an elbow into Liam’s side, gently so that he only tickled him.

Liam ducked his head down, then beamed a smile at him. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

“Well, get on with it! Entertain me with this very important speech you wanted to upstage me with!” Louis pouted as he playfully crossed his arms.

Liam breathed out a chuckle, though it caught a bit in his throat. He was terribly nervous. He and Louis had been songwriting again, but Liam had been working on one song in secret, usually scrawled on napkins or any piece of paper or in his phone while Louis was away or asleep. He had also been playing around with a tune on the guitar, and whenever Louis asked, he’d always claimed maybe they could use it for a later song.

Liam had lied.

And now, he was about to get up on stage in front of his and Louis’s family and all their close friends and a bunch of little kids–to propose to Louis. Through song. It seemed like a good idea and terribly romantic 3 weeks ago, but now he was bricking it. He had never felt this much stage fright in his life.

Liam swallowed, his hands clammy, wiping his fingers on the side of his trousers as he stood up.He glanced back down at Louis, who was clapping his hands and looking up at him with such bright, warm eyes, his teeth edging out from behind his lips.

“Go get ‘em, Payno!” Louis cheered as the rest of the crowd in the ballroom applauded. Liam sent Louis a short grin, then adjusted his collar and tie as he walked up to the stage.

Once on stage, he scanned the crowd to find Louis again. He was sat leaning away from the table to get a clear look at Liam, biting his lip as he fondly stared at him, making Liam’s nerves disappear.

God, Liam loved him.

Liam cleared his throat and moved close to the microphone stand. “Good evening, everyone. A massive thank you again to everyone responsible for putting this on and to all who could attend and contribute to the cause. You’re all wonderful! And I know I already made a speech earlier—and not to take away from the cause—but I figured that since this was Louis’s event and something he really worked hard on, and both of our families are here….”

Liam’s throat went dry as he saw Louis’s smile falter in exchange for a curious furrow of his brow. He turned around and approached the band that had been playing live music for the event–and who had been in on Liam’s plan from the start of the event. He shook their hands, then took an acoustic guitar in hand. He slipped on the strap and adjusted it upon his hips before looking back out at the crowd of freshly dressed guests at this benefit.

“This is a new song I’ve been working on. Lou, this one’s for you.”

He placed his hands back onto the fret and sound hole of the guitar, poised to play the first chord as he inched closer so his mouth was just behind the mic. He set his eyes on Louis again, who watched with his lips slightly parted.

_“We met when were were just boys/hands at each other’s throats/we didn’t understand each other/but somehow stayed afloat/and we met in the middle and we both saw eye to eye/and you taught me how to have fun and made me feel more alive”_

Louis was smiling wide now, sitting up straight at the edge of his seat.

_“And I know there’ll never be another person quite like you/and I’m so glad that I get to call you my Lou/will you be mine, oooh/until the end of time?”_

Liam strummed an interlude measure as he stared at Louis, unable to see anyone else. He licked his lips and continued:

_“You always tell me I smell and I can’t argue with that/but at least I don’t always smell like fried chicken and Big Macs/and we sing and we write and go on crazy recces/and have water fights on stage that turn sexy—sorry, mum!/life with you as my best friend and boyfriend’s never a bore/and after I finish your cereal I’ll gladly go to the store/and when you’re ill or hungover I’ll give you breakfast in bed/and won’t make fun of you or your adorable bedhead/cause I love youuuuuu/and I’m so glad that I get to call you my Lou/ oh won’t you be mine, ooooh/until the end of time?”_

Louis had a hand over his mouth now, his cheeks rosy, visible even from the stage.

_“So this is really cheesy and not all these words rhyme/but all I wanna ask is will you be mine/ for as long as we both shall live and Christ, if it isn’t clear/I want to marry you, Louis, and I hope you’ll marry me/and I’ll never keep a song a secret from you again/as long as I get to call you my Lou until the end”_

Liam let the last chord ring as he looked out at Louis, who still had his hands over his mouth, eyes blinking as he kept them on Liam.

Liam breathed out a laugh, then spoke into the microphone, his heart beating against his chest. “So… that was a lot more romantic in my head, but Louis, will you—”

“YES! Yes!” Louis was already halfway up the stairs when Liam registered that he had rushed up out of his seat. His tie and jacket were flying back and a few strands of hair straggled onto his forehead, none of that making him look any less radiant with his wide-mouthed, toothy grin aimed at Liam.

“Yes, I’ll marry you!” Louis told him before leaping forward to pull him by the waist and kiss him.

Liam grinned against his lips and held him back, hearing the echoes of the full-house applause.

But none of that mattered because Louis said yes! He said yes! They’re going to get married and be together forever!

Even with the guitar between the two of them, Louis pressed himself as close as he could to deepen the kiss, the movement causing a dissonance to ring out from the guitar. As they pulled away, Liam bumped his forehead against Louis’s and looked straight into his eyes.

“I wanted to do this in a way that was special, so I had to kind of keep it a secret from you. Sorry, Lou…” he said with a bite of his lips.

“Guess you’ll just have to make it up to me later tonight, eh?” Louis whispered into his mouth before nipping on his lip.

Liam laughed. “Was it terrible?”

Louis softened his gaze. “Liam, it was beautiful.”

“Awwwww” the crowd cooed in unison.

“Shit, everyone can hear everything we’re saying, can’t they?” Louis asked as he darted his eyes to the crowd.

Liam giggled. “I don’t care. Everyone knows how much of a sap I am for you and I’m not ashamed!”

“He wrote a song for me! And I get to marry him!” Louis cheered into the microphone as he jabbed a thumb towards Liam. The guests softly laughed.

Liam took the guitar strap from his neck, then moved in close to wrap his arm around Louis’s waist, pulling him close. “And I get to marry _you_.”

They met in a kiss again, smiling as they parted.

“Can we just get married now? We already have suits on and all our family and friends are here,” Louis said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“You really want to get married that soon?” Liam asked, his cheeks feeling like they were going to burst from how hard he was smiling. “I didn’t get us rings yet.”

Louis shrugged as he nuzzled his forehead into Liam’s. “I don’t need a ring! Just you!” He smiled into Liam’s eyes.  "I can’t wait to start the rest of my life with you, Payno.“

Without pulling his eyes off of Louis, Liam grinned and called out, “Is there anyone here who can marry us?!”

FIN


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "We were pretending to be lovers but I’m not pretending anymore and I have to know if you feel the same way"
> 
> Liam and Louis are actors on their last day of filming an epic romance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one of my ficlets i kind of wish i could turn into a full-length story... enjoy! :)

“And… action!”

Liam followed his cues and approached Louis in the parlor, who was staring out the window.

“Captain Roberts,” Liam said as he bowed his head forward.

“Mr. Worthing,” Louis curtly replied as he turned around to face him.

Liam stood straight in his starched coat. “My feelings can no longer be concealed. Captain, I—”

“Don’t,” Louis interrupted, hard stare at Liam. “Don’t say anymore.”

Liam approached him quickly, staring into his eyes. “Say you don’t feel it. Say that longing doesn’t burn within you… I…”

Louis cut Liam off by launching forward and pressing a kiss to his lips. Liam held him by the waist as he kissed back.

“Louis…” Liam exhaled.

“Cut!”

There was a mix of laughter and ‘aww’s’ from the film crew as Liam looked away from Louis.

“What was wrong?” Liam blurted out as he turned to face the 20 people crowded around the small set.

“You said Louis’s name… instead of Frederick…” the Director sighed.  

Liam met eyes with Louis and swallowed, feeling his cheeks warm. “Oops.”

Louis smiled. “Easy mistake.”

“I know it’s the last scene for you both to shoot, and it’s been a very long eight weeks… but you can make it through one more take. We’ll just start from right after you both kissed.”

Louis and Liam were blocked back into the position they’d been after they kissed, just an inch from each other, staring into each other’s eyes. There were also two cameras just inches away from them, too, but Liam ignored them, as he always did with Louis. He couldn’t help the flutter in his chest from looking at him. Knowing this was going to be the last time they were like this, and Louis was looking at him with such pain in his eyes. He couldn’t tell if he was acting or not.

“Action!”

“Frederick…” Liam whispered as he stared at Louis’s mouth.

“We can’t!” Louis said as he pushed away from him. He turned round and exited through the door of the salon set, leaving Liam to stare longingly after him.

Liam didn’t know if he himself was acting or not.

 

+

 

Long after the cast and the crew had left the set, Liam sat at the stone temple folly next to the manor they were filming at, looking upon the country against the sinking sunset, the last time he’d see it like this for a while. He was still wearing his 19th-century costume coat, and planned on keeping it for himself.

He heard footsteps approach. He glanced to the left to see Louis in his Regency costume as well, silk necktie still intact.

“What are you doing here?” Liam asked as he stood up.

“Same thing you’re doing, I reckon,” Louis answered as he approached him. “Saying goodbye.”

Liam swallowed. He and Louis were the romantic leads in what was perhaps going to be a revolutionary film—a gay romance set in the Regency era. Really just a slightly more epic version of Pride and Prejudice. Still, hadn’t exactly been done like this before.

Liam was excited about the project, having usually been typecast as the eye-candy action blockbuster hero. Louis was known for his stints in comedies and more recently, quirky indie dramedies. It was a chance for the both of them to break from their typecasts.

But at the beginning of filming, they couldn’t stand each other—they both had completely different work styles and bickered a lot. Louis knew how to get under Liam’s skin like no one else, frustrating him on purpose, forcing them to do about a dozen takes per scene together.

To save the film and manage to appear deeply in love on screen, their director forced them to spend every single day together, share a trailer, and even share hotel rooms together—a dangerous practice meant to force them to get over their differences. At one point, the director had forced them to kiss for an hour under surveillance.

Eventually, they got over their differences and the chemistry sparked throughout the rest of the filming. The last eight weeks were something of a whirlwind for Liam. He felt like he had known Louis for years and now…

Liam gave Louis a sad smile. “It’s just… over. Isn’t it mad?”

Louis smiled. “Think we pulled it off?”

“Hope so. This could change a lot of things,” Liam sighed as he put his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah,” Louis conceded until he was just next to Liam. “Aren’t you glad you don’t have to kiss me ever again, though?”

Liam softly laughed. “Wasn’t terrible.”

“You were okay, too,” Louis replied.

Liam swallowed as he looked into Louis’s grin. The thing was…at some point, it had stopped being acting. If he was honest, probably after the first time they kissed, even though a large part of him still couldn’t stand Louis, though a secret part of him loved the way he pushed and prodded at him.

“I’ll miss seeing you in this garb, too,” Louis said as he moved in and tugged on Liam’s coat lapel. “Bloody fit, aren’t you?”

Liam bashfully smiled. “Look quite dashing yourself, that necktie and those trousers. Give Kim Kardashian a run for her money.”

Louis appeared to blush as he ducked his head and laughed. “I knew you’d always been staring at my arse. Likely see that on camera, eh, Payno?”

Liam laughed, then he quieted as he looked back into Louis’s eyes. “Hey, I just want you to know… I really am glad that I got to make this film with you. It meant a lot. Maybe the best experience I’ve had filming. And kind of the most intense.”

Louis softly smiled, then nodded. “It meant a lot to me, too.”

They stared at each other, and all was quiet. Louis still had his hands on Liam’s coat lapels. Liam looked at his mouth, then looked up to meet his eyes again.

Louis leaned in until Liam placed a hand on his jaw and kissed him. Louis tugged Liam towards himself and deepened the kiss. Liam ran his fingers through his hair, roughing him up a bit more than he was able to as a Regency era gentleman. Louis snaked a hand up to Liam’s neck and broke from his mouth to suck a bite at his Adam’s Apple.

Liam sharply exhaled, then, “Fuck, Louis…”

Louis snorted. “What an inappropriate use of language, Mr. Worthing!”

Liam giggled. “I should think it appropriate to complement the inappropriate use of your teeth, Captain Roberts.”

They both giggled then and finally separated. Louis grinned up at Liam. “I’m going to miss doing this with you everyday.”

“Maybe we don’t have to miss it…” Liam suggested.

Louis swallowed. “You mean, you want to…”

Liam nodded. “If you want to…”

Louis smiled, biting his own lip. “You know, I thought you’d never stop hating me.”

Liam shook his head. “I never started. I… I think I love you, actually.”

Louis smiled again, cheeks rosy. “You love me?”

“Yeah,” Liam said, astonishing himself that he said it out loud.

“I think I love you, too,” Louis replied. “And for the record, I was lying when I said you’d never have to kiss me again.”

Liam laughed until Louis stopped it with another kiss.


End file.
